


this R on my chest

by call_me_steve



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone being a little shit tbh, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Being a Little Shit, also, bruce listening: why are my children so depressing, ft. damian's zoo, i guess, idk - Freeform, is it wiggles??? that dragon that damian was buddy with in one of dick's comics, not really sure how to tag this, short and not sweet, the batboys contemplate suffering basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22868329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/call_me_steve/pseuds/call_me_steve
Summary: “Robin can be defined as one word,” Bruce says, looking over at his sons. There’s not quite a smile on his lips, but he’s bursting with pride all the same. He hopes his boys can see it, even if he won’t say it aloud. “That word is?”(He wasn't ready for his youngest's reply.)
Relationships: Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Comments: 7
Kudos: 439





	this R on my chest

**Author's Note:**

> hhhh this has been sitting in my docs for like ever bcuz i don't like it but i figured i'd just get it out :// 
> 
> based on a whole bunch of random panels in random comics lol
> 
> tumblr: [potato-reblob](https://potato-reblob.tumblr.com/)

“Robin can be defined as one word,” Bruce says, looking over at his sons. There’s not quite a smile on his lips, but he’s bursting with pride all the same. He hopes his boys can see it, even if he won’t say it aloud. “That word is?” 

Dick, despite the grin on his face, rolls his eyes. It’s not the first time Bruce has asked this of most of them- Damian, possibly, is the only one that hasn’t been asked yet, unless Dick brought it up during their time together. “Robin can be defined as one word,” he says, voice light. “Family. Robin gave me all of you, after all.” 

Jason gives Bruce a smirk. “Robin can be described as one word,” he says, as he puts his hands on his hips and strikes a stupid pose, “ _confidence!_ How else could I land those sick one liners without _confidence?_ ” 

(Plus, Bruce thinks, without confidence, the title of Robin would crush you.) 

Dick doesn’t even try to suppress his snort at that. 

Tim side-eyes his brothers. “Robin can be described as one word. Investigation. I mean, it’s the whole reason how I found out your identities in the first place. And- Ra’s still calls me detective..?” He glances to Damian next, who gives a sharp nod. 

Bruce turns his attention to his youngest, too. He already knew what the eldest of the four were going to say, and Damian is no different. They’ve all heard Maya’s whole shtick about the R standing for Redemption.

“Robin can be defined as one word,” Damian says, following the same script. He’s leaning back against Dick’s chest, struggling to look like he’s completely unpleased when everyone knows that there’s no other place he’d rather be. Even with Dick’s arms wrapped around his chest, he still looks serious, though. He sucks in a deep breath and meets Bruce’s eyes. “Suffering.” 

Everyone can hear the record scratch in Bruce’s mind loud and clear. 

_Suffering?_ he mouths, without moving his lips all too much. His son- his _thirteen year old son-_ thought that-?

“ _Amen!_ ” Jason cries. That earns him a punch to the shoulder and a sharp glare from Dick. 

“Dami,” Dick says, once he pushes Jason away and shifts Damian in his lap. “That’s not- You and I both know that that’s not what _your_ R means, Dami. It means-” 

Damian’s face goes cold. “It _means_ suffering. I’m not _stupid._ ” 

“I’m not trying to say that, Damian.” 

“The R on our chest stands for _suffering,_ and I am _right._ We go out every night and we get tossed around in Batman’s place so we can _protect him_ and so we can protect Gotham." 

Bruce opens his mouth to say something, but Damian doesn't give him the chance. Robin's job was never _meant_ to be for _Batman's_ protection. It was meant to allow _Batman_ to keep an eye over these _children,_ who, quite frankly, probably would've gotten themselves _killed_ if Batman had let them go off on their own.

"The only reason all of you became Robin was because you were in a bad situation,” Damian continues. He starts to count down on his fingers, ticking down as he talks. “Grayson’s parents died. Todd’s parents were, frankly, terrible and he was basically living out on the _streets._ _Drake’s_ parents were neglectful. I could point out my own situation with Mother, if you’d like.

“The whole Robin situation you all- _we,_ I suppose- were thrust into was only marginally better. Need I point out all of the scars that lace our bodies from criminals? Gunshots? Stab wounds? Hell, I could even point out that in _Todd’s_ case, being Robin lead to him being _killed!_ And then when he came back, you labelled him an outcast, did you not?” 

“Same could be said for you,” Jason points out. "But, _damn,_ does this kid make a good point." 

Bruce can’t find it in himself to _say_ anything. Dick looks remotely sick. Tim, though, listens intently, a hard crease in his brow. 

Damian regards Jason's point for a moment. “Not exactly," he says, "for I _had_ died prior to being Robin. However, Heretic, I will admit, was much more traumatizing” -and, really, Damian actually admitting this ‘weakness’ to them just to prove a point spoke volumes, even if it sounded flippant- “than simply coding during surgery or whatever lead to the pit.” Damian scrunches up his nose. Dick would probably of squealed at that, had the situation been any different. “I’m only just now realizing how much I have in _common_ with such a buffoon like you, Todd.” 

“Gee,” Jason drawls. “Thanks. But. I think you’ve got this all _wrong,_ kiddo.” 

Tim clears his throat, but bobs his head. “I’ll be the last to admit that being Robin was terrible for me, I guess. The worst part about it was giving up the title so _you_ could take it. And, while I _do_ see where you’re coming from, I think a _lot_ of things can be described as suffering. So, unless we’re all just _forever_ living and suffering every day-” 

Jason shifts and drops down onto the arm of the couch. “We are, though.” 

“Shut up. Uh- I think that suffering-” Tim pauses, a frown tugging at his lips. “What was I saying?” 

“Something completely _stupid,_ ” Jason returns. He bumps his voice up an octave to mock Tim. “ _Unless all of us are just suffering all the time, then-_ ” 

“Oh! Yeah. If all of us are just suffering all day, every day, then that’s your answer. But. We’re not. You and Dick have good times. You and Bruce have good _patrols._ Uh- You and Jason are both completely- uh- you know what? You know what I’m talking about. So.”

“He’s trying to say that Robin isn’t all bad. Choose something cool like the rest of us. Like… Oh, I dunno, maybe that thing that _Maya Ducard_ said.” 

Sudden enough to break Dick’s embrace, Damian stands, cheeks turning red. “She _told_ you that? Why, I’ll-” 

Jason snorts. “And she told us that you’re supposed to be expecting the tooth fairy to roll around sometime soon for that _tooth_ of yours. Oh, and Goliath. I seriously _can’t_ believe you haven’t let me meet Goliath yet. You own a freakin’ zoo, and I still get the feeling we haven’t seen half of them.” 

Damian folds his arms and sticks his nose in the air. “Like I’d ever allow you to meet Wiggles. Only _Grayson_ has.” 

“Man, Wiggles was the best,” Dick says, solemnly. Apparently, Bruce thinks, the Robin topic has been dropped. At Bruce’s questioning stare, though, he adds, “Wiggles is a dragon Dami and I- well, okay, mostly just Dami- befriended.” 

“You have a pet _dragon?!_ That you named _Wiggles?!_ What the hell runs through your mind?” 

That’s gotta be the most childish thing Damian’s ever _done._ Well, besides naming his turkey _Jerry._ (Bruce wishes he were more like that. That he got to run around like Dick and Jason had done at his age. That he’d gotten a childhood instead of a kill count.) 

The conversation is lost on them. Everyone forgets about suffering as they begin to gang up on Jason- _Wiggles is a wonderful name, little wing! Don’t knock it until you see Wiggles. The name fits._

( _Redemption,_ Bruce thinks later, fits so much better.)


End file.
